Other speakers included John Hood, president of the John Locke Foundation, and Jonathan Williams, director of the American Legislative Exchange Council's Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force.

Thompson said recent tax reforms signed into law by Governor McCrory have had a profound effect on North Carolina's small-business owners.

"It means more money in their pockets, it means that they can expand their businesses, it means they can hire more employees, it means they can increase part-time workers' hours, and it means they can reinvest in their businesses as well as contribute back to their communities, which most small businesses do," he said.